Avid reader, writer and music-geek living in Auckland with too many books and not enough shelves. I currently review books for NZ Booklovers, a site dedicated to all things book related - reviews, author interviews, articles, competitions and more.

And again, de Lint makes his way back to my "favourite authors" list. While not quite reaching the magic of Dreams Underfoot, Tapping the Dream Tree is filled with beautiful writing and this time, most of the stories are heart-warming too. There are only two here that I would consider dark, involving an innocent boy on death row, and also a ghost seeking revenge on a serial killer.

The other stories are fanciful and lovely (though often still with that hint of darkness). There's the werewolf going on a blind date after putting an ad in the paper; the hob who organises the books in a second-hand book-store; Sophie returning to the dreamworld for yet another adventure and, of course, Jilly Coppercorn.

If this sounds at all "childish", I assure you it is not, though all his writing - yes, even the darkest - retains that sense of childhood wonder that I think the majority of us have lost.